Poll: Cut spending, but spare military

Americans support across-the-board cuts to federal spending but want to spare the military the same pain, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The ABC/Washington Post poll finds 61 percent of Americans back a 5 percent across-the-board cut in spending, but only 34 percent are on board with an 8 percent across-the-board cut in military spending. Majorities of Democrats, independents and Republicans want the 5 percent cut, and majorities of Republicans and independents oppose the military cuts. Democrats are divided, with 47 percent wanting the defense cuts and 48 percent opposing them.

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The two options roughly reflect the two halves of sequestration, the $1.2 trillion cuts over the next decade that kicked in on March 1, causing an immediate $85 billion cut. Half of the cuts came from domestic spending (excluding entitlements), and half came from the Pentagon.

The broad support for general spending cuts contrasts with opposition to specific cuts. Of 19 possible targets for spending cuts in a February Pew Research Center poll, Americans supported cuts in only area: foreign aid.

The poll of 1,017 adults was conducted from Feb. 27 to March 3. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.